Freelancers Over 65 Earn More and Work Less

If you are over 65 then it could very well be the perfect time to become a freelance professional. That's according to new research anyway.

The "Definite Study of the Self Employed" was a research project
commissioned by Intuit Quickbooks, and after asking 5000 people who
worked for themselves they came up with the following
statistics...

£40,000, that is the average income that the over 65s make every
single year, compared to only £34,000 for freelance workers who are
below 65.

Not only that, but it came to light that freelancers over 65
actually work, on average, 7 hours a week less than their younger
counterparts, with a typical working week coming in at only 21
hours.

It appears the older generation really are embracing the
freelance lifestyle here. Do a bit of work in the morning and then
spend the rest of the day putting your feet up or spending time
with family or friends. Could this be better than retirement? It
very could be.

I've reported before on how freelancers are not sorting out
their pensions, and how many will have to be working well into
their 70s and 80s as a result. However, if you are
making more and working less after the age of 65, then in my
opinion many people might not want to retire anyway.

71% of those who took part in the research said they now earn
the same or more than when they were in traditional employment,
while 65% commented they now have more satisfaction in what they
do.

68% mentioned that flexibility in working when they want is a
major factor in being self employed. It certainly is a major
benefit, especially if you work from home and choose your own
hours.

25% said they got a lot of satisfaction from firing their boss
and becoming their own boss, while another 47% admitted they went
the self employed route because they had belief in their
skills.

It isn't all sunshine though, as 41% answered they were
concerned about not having a predictable income and 35% moaned
about the fact that handling details such as accounting, taxes,
audits, and compliance is something they definitely don't
enjoy.

There will always be pros and cons to becoming a freelance
professional in the UK, but if you ask me, there are more pros than
cons, and it's certainly worth the ride.

Nearly 5 million people are classified as being self employed
right now in 2017, that is around 15% of UK workers, and with the
over 65 age bracket becoming a major force in this statistic, I
think we are going to be seeing more potential pensioners say no to
retirement, and yes to freelance.